Surgical processes of various types often utilize electro-cautery devices for cutting and/or cauterizing, some of which are mono-polar devices and others of which are bi-polar devices. These devices are well known for use in surgery and can be acquired from various suppliers. Such electro-cautery probes, which are often referred to as “tips,” may char and collect tissue fragments on the electro-cautery probes as they are used in surgery. Such charring and accumulation of tissue fragments may degrade the performance of the probes and cause decreased efficiency of the electrodes thus presenting the need to clean or replace the electrodes during cauterization procedures.
The prior art has suggested a variety of man-made or synthetic materials for coating electro-cautery probes. Such prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,314,559; 4,785,807; 5,100,402; 5,197,962; 5,380,320; 5,549,604; 5,702,387; 5,713,895; 6,070,444; and 6,540,745, for example. The disclosure of each of these references is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Further, Megadyne® (headquartered in Draper, Utah) provides the E-Z Clean® electro-cautery tip which is advertised as being a non-stick electro-cautery tip or probe which reduces eschar, or scabbed tissue, buildup.
Also, in surgery procedures involving inserting instruments into other instruments, there is a need for lubrication of the instruments.